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Friendly to the Environment
Solid Wood Flooring, Environment and Health in the Home

In view of increasing lack of resources, the question being asked is whether wood should still be used at all as a building material and in particular, whether it should be used for the production of parquetry flooring. The examination of a few basic comparisons clearly supports the use of wood.

 

A further benefit for the environment is that energy consumption for the production and processing of timber products is much lower than for any other material.

 

Using wood for long-lasting building components has a further benefit to the environment: if one allowed dead trees to rot away, oxygen would be removed from the air and instead be replaced by carbon dioxide. However, if we use the wood as a building material, the atmosphere remains free from harmful carbon dioxide that is contained within the wood, and contributes to the reduction of the greenhouse effect.

 

Wood is one of the few renewable building materials. Through its use, limited available resources of other raw materials will be conserved. Apart from that, the production of timber achieves an incalculable positive amount for the balance of the environment. Trees remove a considerable quantity of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. At the same time they produce oxygen. The forest therefore, directly influences our quality of life. It regulates land, water balance, air and climate and finally, also provides relaxation for people.

 

Our forests must be managed so that they may have a future. Wood must be cut, and young trees planted. In Europe, this occurs according to the principle of sustainability. That means: annually, no more wood will be felled than is renewed.

In actual fact, the quantity of felling has for years been considerably lower than the amount of growth, without influencing either the stock or quality of timber. Furthermore, the area of woodland has considerably increased in recent years. In managed commercial forest, more trees are being grown than in a well-stocked natural forest. The integration of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, increases along with it too.

There are therefore, ecological as well as economical reasons that support the idea of using as much wood as possible. In future, by far the largest proportion of wood flooring laid will certainly be produced from reliable native woods, such as oak and beech.

A problem with priority for the environment is, indisputable, the preservation of the tropical rain forests. Independent from the result of discussions about a convenient procedure, it is imaginable, that a durable solution for the countries of origin, includes, beside the complete preservation of the forests in its variety of species, also a convenient utilization of the additional growing wood. The decision about the utilization of such wood, whose availability is limited on these conditions, can only be reserved to these countries. For the future it will only be possible to use tropical wood in fields where the technical properties of the woods will be used in an optimal way. On a small scale, this would be also valid for a high serviceable parquetry flooring.

Regardless of the ecological aspects, for reasons of health, there is a lot to be said for the use of timber and particularly of wood flooring in buildings where people live and work.

As a natural product, wood has a positive effect on the body and soul.

For home life, no other material offers so much quality. Wood creates natural harmony, and harmony is the essence of nature and life.

The various characteristics of wood technology in wood flooring, for example, low heat loss, springiness, lack of static charge, and the hygienic effect of sealed surface areas - to name but a few - form the basis of healthy living.

The use of water seals and oils that are low in solvents, or indeed even solvent-free, leads to an environmentally friendly finish.

With regard to health in the home, there is no difference between sealant and wax/oil treatments of parquetry surfaces, also every else surface treatment and glue between usual industrial products and so-called nature products. If the still proved and commendable wax or oil has only a small importance nowadays, so is it to trace back to the disproportionate high expenditure of work at the cleaning and maintenance, as well as to the minor wearing quality as at the sealed floorings..

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